25 Years of Global Exchange

In 1988, four friends co-founded Global Exchange to fight a worldview based on greed, domination, and unvarnished worship of power. Global Exchange was founded to change the hearts and minds of those lured to believe that corporate profit would trickle down to create wealth for all. We aimed to speak truth to power. We sought to create awareness of what was being called, “global warming.” We chose to stand in solidarity with South Africans seeking democracy and with peasant farmers seeking a fair economy.

We envisioned building a robust U.S. movement capable of creating change from the grassroots, powered by people-to-people ties. To change the world, we started making change at home. We knew we had a long way to go, but we knew the will was there.

Now, we’re celebrating 25 years, and we are proud to honor the dedication of people like you who have sweated and sacrificed to forge a working alternative from the ground up. We’re proud of what we’ve done together. But to achieve the visions we set out all those years ago, we’re going to need your continued support.

As we take stock of Global Exchange at 25, despite the daunting challenges we still face, we are closer to the world we seek than we ever were in 1988.

Global Exchange was founded 25 years ago to promote human rights around the world. To end war. To respect all of the planet’s inhabitants. To stand for equality for worker’s rights and for a more egalitarian society.

Back then, it seemed like we were tilting at windmills. My, how times have changed. Climate change has gone from unknown to the topic of the hour. People are questioning economic inequality. For the first time in decades, a significant percentage of the population has taken a critical eye to the whole global system and called for change.

With growing understanding, a growing movement, and a growing will – here at home and around the world – now is the time we must make good on the aspirations humanity has cherished for generations: a world where we have a chance to thrive, to grow, love, and breathe.